1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to the wallboard used in constructing buildings, and more particularly to a tool and related methodology for patching a hole in such wallboard.
2. Background Information
Patching a hole in installed wallboard usually involves filling the hole with some sort of spreadable patching compound, letting the compound dry, and then sanding it so that it blends in with the original wallboard. If the hole is large enough, one might cut an extra piece of the wallboard into a patch that fills the major portion of the hole and then use the patching compound to finish the job. However, wallboard installations often include an airspace behind the wallboard that can frustrate patching efforts.
Consider a typical wall structure, for example. It may include two wallboards on opposite sides of a wall framework formed from two-by-four or two-by-six studs, the term "wallboard" including any of various types of drywall, sheetrock, and plaster-type wallboard used to construct such structures as walls and ceilings. The outer surface of one wallboard faces one room of the house, the outer surface of the other wallboard faces an adjacent room, and the interior surfaces of the two wallboards face each other, separated by an airspace of approximately 31/2 inches or 51/2 inches depending on the size of the studs. As a result, the patch and patching compound can fall out of the hole being patched into the airspace, thereby complicating the patching task.
Attempts at overcoming that problem may include such expedients as stuffing the airspace with newspaper as a backing, framing in a portion of the airspace, and cutting the patch in a way creating overhangs that tend to inhibit the patch from falling into the airspace. However, those techniques can be time-consuming, relatively costly, and even ineffective. Consequently, it is desirable to have a better way of patching a hole in wallboard.